Have you ever experienced the thrill of hunting for arrowheads? I did as a
young boy wandering the scrub fields of my dad’s property in northern Texas.
Over the years, we collected all sorts of flint flakes, finely crafted arrowheads,
and other Indian artifacts.

As I grew older, I learned that every region has its own unique human artifacts,
from Neanderthal axes in Europe to so-called Homo erectus cleavers in
Africa. Here in the Ohio River Valley, where I now live, people hunt for spear
points left by the “Paleo-Indians” at the end of the Ice Age. How cool is that?

These early people fascinate me. What unique challenges did they face, and
how did they overcome them? What do their lives reveal about our Creator, who
made each person in His image with unique gifts specifically designed to glorify
Him?

Ever since I became a Christian, I’ve wanted to know more about all these people,
and I’ve wondered where they belong in the biblical timeline. As a history buff,
I’m not content with generalities. I want specifics!

Ultimately, I’d like to be able to read any archeology book or visit any museum
and see how the Bible’s timeline explains all these archaeological findings.
As a Bible believer, I believe that every artifact, no matter how obscure, should
make sense within our worldview.

Signs

So when we settled on the Ice Age for this issue, I was excited. Did we have
enough information to put together a rough timeline of events immediately after
Babel?

Our past isn’t just a chaotic jumble of unrelated facts. Using God’s Word as
our foundation, we can begin to sort out these facts and make sense of our world.

Using God’s Word as our foundation, we can begin to sort out these facts and make sense of our world.

I think that God expects us to look for patterns and draw wise conclusions.
Christ said as much, when He rebuked the Jews for failing to use their everyday
skills for predicting weather to recognize the signs of His coming: “You know
how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the
times” (see Matthew 16:2–3).

Dr. Andrew Snelling, a leading creation geologist who directs research at Answers
in Genesis, has been showing me how creation scientists can make sense of these
patterns. While radiocarbon dates are based on old-earth assumptions and therefore
too old for the biblical timescale, they are useful for establishing “relative
dates.” (Finds with older dates are older than finds with more recent dates.)

By comparing relative dates, it was possible to establish a rough outline for
Ice Age events. And the results are fascinating. (By the way, I now have a massive
Excel file with hundreds of entries for major finds worldwide, and I hope to
keep adding to it!)

Creationists still have a long way to go, but I can now—for the first time—look
at any radiocarbon date for a human artifact and put it somewhere on my timeline.

A friend of mine at church, an amateur archaeologist, recently loaned me his
book Ohio Flint Types, published by the Archaeological Society of Ohio.
I can now take every flint tool, beginning with Paleo-Indian fluted points (dated
9,500–10,000 BC), and show where they would line up in the post-Flood timeline.

The Ohio area is rich in artifacts. My friend told me that his rural property
is loaded and he plans to begin a dig in his own backyard. You can guess where
I’ll be spending some warm summer afternoons!

It’s an exciting time to be alive and work with other Bible believers who love
God, love His Word, love science, and love learning more about the world around
us.

Mike Matthews is the editor in chief of Answers magazine.

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Answers Magazine

April – June 2013

What unique conditions were required to start the Ice Age, and where does it fit in Bible times? Why did Ice Age animals grow so big, and what happened to them? Also, can you explain why God made more species of beetles than any other animal? Can you prove that Genesis 1–3 is not a Near Eastern myth? Read the answers to these questions and many, many more in this issue!

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